To Sochi or not to Sochi?

When Olympics time comes around, I always honor the Games by wrestling with myself over whether to watch or not. Spending two weeks in front of the TV watching other people exercise isn't going to benefit me in any way. So this year I put together a list of pros and cons to help me decide.

Pros:
-        Shaun White's hair
-        There's nothing else on
-        Epic fail figure skating crashes
-        Epic fail crashes for all other sports
-        Possibility of learning what a triple lutz is
-        Personal stories of athletes overcoming hardship to compete in Games
-        Watching U.S. athletes win
-        Being patriotic and supporting my team
-        Halfpipe and figure skating are the rare women's sports that are entertaining

Cons:

-        Shaun White cut his hair this year
-        Could watch commercial-free DVDs instead
-        Figure skating reminds me of Tonya Harding
-        Curling doesn't move fast enough for epic fails
-        Lack of room in my brain for triple lutz
-        Athletes act like these pointless contests are as important as curing cancer
-        Watching U.S. athletes lose to tiny countries that don't even have snow
-        Won't make me smarter, richer, thinner, or more accomplished
-        Excuse to seem patriotic while just wasting time
-        No gymnastics in Winter Games

It seems like a wash, but I'll probably end up watching parts of the Olympics like usual. Something interesting usually happens that people are talking about, and it's always good to see that live. This year, I’m expecting Russian President Vladimir Putin to put exiled American NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in his presidential box with him for the Opening Ceremonies. And if the pair of them fail to land the triple lutz, then all the better.

Olympic Athletes Need Love, Too

In a never-ending attempt to avoid working on one of several manuscripts that I should be dealing with, I've been watching the Olympics. Who knew that professional trampolining (is that a word?) exists outside of the circus industry. Anyway, with the upcoming release of the relationship book I wrote with my aunt Louise Helene, I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE, I got to thinking about whether any Olympic athletes have met their spouses through the Games. Turns out, there are a number of them. And apparently I'm not the only one wondering about this question because I found a photo segment that the Huffington Post just had on the same topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/olympic-marriage_n_1655143.html

Of the couples listed, the one that surprised me most was Olympic gold-medal gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner. I had no idea they'd gotten married. Even if you're too young to have seen Nadia earn multiple scores of perfect 10 in the 1976 Games, you've probably heard about her. And American Bart Conner won men's gymnastic gold at the 1984 Olympics.

I was intrigued by Nadia and Bart, so I did a little research about them. It seems their romance wasn't exactly love at first sight and smooth sailing forever after. They met for the first time at a gymnastics competition several months before the 1976 Olympics. A 14-year-old Nadia won a gold medal for the women, and Bart, who was 18 years old at the time, won the men's medal. They stood next to each other on the award platform, and a photographer suggested Bart give Nadia a kiss. He did, but if sparks flew, it would be a long time before anyone found out about it.

Nadia went on to endure a great deal of turmoil in her home country of Romania, which was ruled by the oppressive Communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. In 1989, she fled Romania for the United States. Once there, she made contact with old friends, including Bart Conner. The two of them became engaged in 1994 and married in 1996. Twenty years after they first met.

That happily-ever-after story puts a huge, goofy grin on my face. I hope you like it, too.
Kim